Larger than Life (mixtape)

Larger than Life is American R&B singer Brent Faiyaz's debut mixtape. It was released independently through Faiyaz's label ISO Supremacy and distributed through UnitedMasters on October 27, 2023, as a surprise release. The album features guest appearances from ASAP Ant, ASAP Rocky, Babyface Ray, Coco Jones, Cruddy Murda, Felix!, Flee, Lil Gray, Missy Elliott, N3WYRKLA, Princess Cro, Tommy Richman, and TTM Dawg. The majority of the album was produced by Dpat alongside Mannyvelli and Sparkheem who also produced several tracks on the project. Larger than Life was preceded by two singles; the Coco Jones-assisted "Moment of Your Life" and "WY@".

Release and promotion
On May 2, 2023, Billboard reported that Brent Faiyaz signed a new distributed deal with UnitedMasters, rumored to be valued at up to $50 million. UnitedMasters CEO, Steve Stoute, spoke on the addition of Faiyaz to the company: "'Brent Faiyaz is one of the most prolific independent artists today, and we are extremely excited to embark on this new partnership with him. It's been inspiring to watch his journey as an artist over the years, and with this partnership we look to further amplify his creative vision and support his entrepreneurial ambitions.'"

On August 16, 2023, Billboard reported the start-up of Faiyaz's new record label and creative company, ISO Supremacy, distributed by UnitedMasters ahead of a new project. On August 23, 2023, Faiyaz released the album's lead single, "Moment of Your Life" featuring Coco Jones. Just a month later, on September 19, 2023, Faiyaz released the album’s second single, "WY@".

Just hours before the release of the album, on October 26, 2023, Faiyaz shared the official album trailer on his YouTube channel and social media pages to announce the album to his fans.

On December 8, 2023, Brent released the Lone Wolf-directed music video for "Upset", featuring Tommy Richman and FELIX. On December 15, 2023, Brent released a "Chopped Not Slopped" remix of the album with ISO Supremacy and DJ Candlestick. On January 16, 2024, Brent released the OffBucksFilms-directed official music video for "Pistachios". On February 14, 2024, Brent released the music video for "WY@", starring Mexican-Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyong'o. The video was purposely set to be released on Valentine's Day due to the song's lyrical topics.

Critical reception
Larger Than Life received generally favorable reviews from critics. AllMusic's TiVo Staff stated that the project allows Brent to stay "in a loop of nostalgia for much of his first mixtape". He wrote that "Faiyaz channels late-'90s radio R&B production on the staggered percussion beats" and that the production is similar to The Neptunes'. He concluded his review as he wrote that "Larger Than Life is light fun for the most part, and the retro styles are counterbalanced by blunt-edged rap features". Writing for Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre wrote that the album is "a life-is-good album where Faiyaz could easily have chosen to pop champagne to his success by bringing all of today's most powerful rap and R&B artists into the fold", however, "he pays homage to his home by getting both regional pioneers and up-and-comers involved in his mess". Pierre notes that "Faiyaz sings about stories that would be the highlight of most people’s year like it’s just another day".

Commercial performance
Larger than Life debuted at number eleven on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 42,000 album-equivalent units (including 1,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week. This became Brent Faiyaz's third US top-twenty debut on the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 54.1 million on-demand official streams from the set's tracks.

Track listing
Sample credits
 * "Tim's Intro" contains a sample of "No Scrubs" as performed by TLC, written by Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and Lisa Lopes
 * "Last One Left" contains a sample of "Crazy Feelings" as performed by Missy Elliott, written by Melissa Elliott, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and Timothy Mosley
 * "Forever Yours" contains a sample of "Fafo" as performed by Zack Fox, written by Zachary Fox and Benjamin Fort
 * "Best Time" contains a sample of "Caught Out There" as performed by Kelis, written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
 * "Moment of Your Life" contains a sample of "Boy You Should Listen" as performed by Lady Wray, written by Nicole Wray and Melissa Elliott
 * "Belong To You" contains a sample of "I Belong to You (Every Time I See Your Face)" as performed by Rome, written by Jerome Woods and Gerald Baillergeau
 * "Pistachios" contains a sample of "If We Make Love Tonight" as performed by Adina Howard, written by Curtis Wilson, Jeff Young, and Rochad Holiday